


There's A Place for Us

by foggys_cupcake_girl



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Birthday Fluff, Break Up, Cinnamon Roll Original Percival Graves, Confident Credence Barebone, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hawaii, Heartbreak, Love at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute, Newt Scamander Being an Idiot, Original Percival Graves Needs a Hug, Original Percival Graves is a Softie, Protective Credence Barebone, Romantic Gestures, Smitten Original Percival Graves, Tender Sex, Vacation, Workaholic Newt Scamander, also a lil bit of birthday angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27808573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foggys_cupcake_girl/pseuds/foggys_cupcake_girl
Summary: When Percy's workaholic environmentalist boyfriend turns a romantic birthday getaway into a work trip, it's the last straw. His sympathetic boss sends him on vacation alone, but all the luxury of a beautiful Hawaiian resort still can't take away the pain of his lost love...until he meets the beautiful, enchanting young event planner who conveniently happens to be staying in the suite next to his.
Relationships: Credence Barebone/Original Percival Graves, Original Percival Graves/Newt Scamander
Comments: 33
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In hindsight, Percy should’ve known it was too good to last.

He and Newt had their ups and downs, sure, but mostly, things had been good. The one problem was that Newt was, and there truly was no other way to say it, a total workaholic. Percy could understand that; he’d worked hard in his early twenties too, and it’d certainly paid off as now he was a senior partner. So, yes, Percy understood the value of “work now, play later.”

But Newt was not working his way up a corporate ladder. He was a zoologist, an activist, a conservation expert, the kind of person who never stopped unless arrested or handed a restraining order. In fact, that was how they’d met: Percy had been hired by SeaWorld Orlando to make Newt’s animal rights group stop protesting outside their gates in an effort to get them to release the whales.

But Percy loved him deeply. He loved Newt’s energy, his fire and his passion. But after a few years he started to feel…taken for granted, just a bit.

There were problems. Little things. Like when Newt left just as they were about to have sex for the first time in weeks, because he was needed at the wildlife clinic. A game hunter had shot a whooping crane instead of a turkey. The bird made it, luckily. But Newt was not a veterinarian, and he had not been needed to perform surgery on the bird. He’d needed to be there to…give interviews to the local TV and radio stations.

“Couldn’t someone else have done that?” Percy asked him over the phone the next day. “Not that I’m complaining, but…well, I miss you.”

“It was an emergency,” was all Newt said, and Percy tried not to feel hurt.

After a while it felt like no matter what Percy did, no matter how devoted he was, no matter how hard he tried to accommodate Newt, it would never be enough. He brought Newt lunches during long days at the clinic, never said a word when Newt called off their dates for work, pretended it didn’t hurt when Newt ignored some important day or event because he was too caught up in a project. Still Newt never reciprocated, never dreamed of calling out of work to spend the day with Percy.

It hadn’t always been like that. Had it? Percy tried to remember…at least there were a few times that Newt put him first. The day he’d been in an accident on the way to work and broke his arm, Newt had come to take him home from the hospital. Percy remembered that day, how he’d panicked when his mind went hazy from the drugs—he wasn’t used to taking painkillers, and he was afraid he’d stop breathing if he slept. Newt had stayed up and kept watch while Percy slept, had called the doctor and demanded a different medication that wouldn’t affect Percy quite so strongly.

Newt had been there for him. Newt had _fought_ for him, advocated for him like Percy was one of his endangered creatures. When had that changed?

And then came the final blow. Six months out from his thirty-fifth birthday, Percy impulsively booked a trip to Hawaii on the advice of his close friend (and Newt’s sister-in-law) Leta, who even went so far as to hook him up with her travel agent. Initially Newt balked at the idea of taking such a long flight without a legitimate reason—Newt seemed to think _vacation_ was a dirty word—but Percy all but begged him and finally he caved “because it seems so important to you.”

In the last weeks leading up to the trip, the tension mounted. Newt spent so much time in the field that Percy almost wondered if he was doing it out of some kind of passive-aggressive vengeance, a punishment for demanding something as frivolous and eco-unfriendly as a vacation. But he finally came home early one night, looking absolutely exhausted but very pleased with himself, and it wasn’t until they were getting ready for bed that he dropped the bomb.

“So, guess what,” he said as he sat on the bed with his laptop, while Percy was still in the bathroom washing his face.

“What?” Percy called back over the sound of the faucet.

“I set up something for our trip to Hawaii. An excursion of sorts.”

“Oh really?” This could be good, Percy thought absently as he splashed his face with the warm water. Really good. The fact that Newt actually, for the first time, sounded genuinely excited about going was enough to make his heart flutter.

“Yeah. Two-day expedition to Kauai, taking over what used to be a day spa and setting up a monk seal sanctuary in its place.”

Percy froze, still bent over the sink, face dripping, heart sinking to the floor. That…did not sound like a fun vacation activity. No. Newt couldn’t do this to him, not now. “Two days? That’s…really?” he asked as he groped for a towel.

“Well, more like a day and a half. Just one overnight, don’t worry, I’ve calculated it out, we won’t lose out too much on the hotel.” There was a pause, and then, “Especially since I’ll just be going. You won’t even have to leave the resort. Just stay there drinking mai tais or whatever you were planning on doing.”

Percy made a wounded noise into the towel. This just got worse and worse. “Newt, can you…can you _not?”_ he asked, his voice slightly muffled. “This trip was supposed to be _our time,_ not work time.”

“It’s only a day and a half, Percy. Don’t be selfish. You won’t even notice I’m gone. It’s right near the beginning of the trip. I’ll stay with you the whole rest of the time,” Newt said, as if this were somehow a decent compromise.

Towards the beginning…wait. With a sinking feeling in his stomach Percy finished drying his face and neck and took a few deep breaths before he went into the bedroom, clutching the towel in his hands for something to do. “What day will you be gone?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“The night of the thirty-first. I’ll leave at about seven that morning and be back around three or four in the afternoon on the first of June.”

“But you’ll be gone all of May thirty-first.” An ice cube the size of a tennis ball formed in his stomach. “The _whole day,_ really?”

“It’s just one day,” Newt repeated. “Really, I don’t understand why this is such a big deal. It’s for a very good cause, look—” He turned his laptop around and showed off a photograph of a baby monk seal.

Now, Percy was as susceptible to cute things as the next gay man, but… “Newt,” he said softly, “do you remember _why_ we’re going to Hawaii in the first place? Like, do you remember what day I specifically wanted to make sure we were there?” Newt thought it over and then shook his head, looking utterly nonplussed. Percy sighed heavily and sat down on the edge of the bed. “May thirty-first,” he repeated. _“May thirty-first,_ seriously, just think for a second.”

“It’s not our anniversary. That’s not until…what, September?”

“November,” Percy said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “So no, that’s not it.” There was dead silence for a moment, and then he finally gave up. “That’s my birthday. That’s the _freaking reason we’re going,_ Newt.”

Newt looked up from the laptop, and for a moment Percy had hope. Then Newt shrugged and said, “Well, then, I guess we’ll just have to celebrate when I get back, won’t we? Honestly, it’s only a day late, I don’t understand why—”

“No!” Percy stared at him in total shock. “No, we are _not_ —God, you never think about anything other than your bleeding animals anymore!” Percy got to his feet, twisting the towel furiously in his hands; he knew he looked deranged but he was past caring. Something about this cut deep. “You didn’t want to go in the first place, is that why—are you _punishing_ me, is that it?”

Newt looked shocked. “No! Goodness, no, I’d never—you know I’d never—”

“No I don’t know! Because you whined for weeks about having to go on an airplane for this trip, never fucking mind that you went to fucking _Australia_ for, what, a _conference_ last year? I could see you going to build a—a clinic or a sanctuary or whatever the hell you’re doing in Kauai, but God, a conference? So you’ll increase your carbon footprint or whatever to circle-jerk about what a good job you’re doing saving the planet, but you complain when I want to go on a trip?”

“Percy,” Newt cut him off in a tone that was supposed to be placating, “you really aren’t making any sense.”

Percy knew he wasn’t, because what he couldn’t get across was, _why do I never come first anymore? I don’t want you to worship me night and day, I just want you to choose me over work, just once._ Instead he swallowed the impulse to cry (he would _not_ break down in front of Newt like some girl from a Hallmark movie!) and said, “Cancel the trip to Kauai, or take me with you.”

“No,” Newt said simply, and Percy gaped. “It’s not a _trip,_ it’s a mission. I’m going there to _save lives,_ really, you ought to be proud of me—”

“And I would be any other time, but this trip was supposed to be about us!”

“Really? Because it sounds like you’re upset that you’re not going to have my undivided attention for, what, a day? Which means you want it to be about _you.”_

Percy had reached the end of his rope. “All right, yeah, maybe I do! Maybe I want it to be about me for once and not some creature that you have to save! Maybe I want you to look at a pile of seals writhing on the beach who have no clue who you are and don’t care if it’s you or someone else who helps them, and then look at the man who loves you, and who is literally begging for your attention, and choose the second option over the first! Just _once,_ Newt! Please!”

Newt looked…shocked. Really, truly, unmistakably shocked. He truly couldn’t understand, Percy realized with a jolt, that he’d made a mistake. He honestly thought he was one hundred percent in the right here, and that—that _broke_ Percy in a way he didn’t think it would.

He turned away, because he didn’t trust his own face right now. “All right,” he said heavily. “All right, that’s—it’s okay. I’m just going to—” He headed back for the bathroom, not quite sure how being in there would help but knowing he needed to not be in the same room as Newt right now. “Just please _try_ to understand why you doing things like this upsets me. Please.”

And then came the straw that broke his back. Newt sighed exasperatedly and said in a tone of wrenching condescension, “I think you’ve made yourself more unhappy about this situation than I ever could.”

Oh, that did it. Percy threw the towel into the laundry hamper and, without a word, stalked through the bedroom past Newt and into the hall, slamming the door behind him. He couldn’t be here. He curled up in the guest room bed, tears that he was too proud to cry stinging his eyes, and spent the whole night shivering under too-light blankets because he’d forgotten to put on a shirt before he left the bedroom.

Newt never came after him.

~

Newt took the following day off—very rare, that—and came to get Percy at lunchtime. He was sweet, but he seemed nervous and Percy let himself _hope,_ again. He could see something in Newt’s pocket, a little square box, and his heart hammered in his chest as he got in the car. Percy had always thought _he_ would propose; in his rare fantasies of that moment he’d always been the one to go down on one knee…but he’d happily accept if Newt asked…especially if it came with an apology…

They went to Olive Garden, which was hardly the most romantic place for a proposal, but Newt was unusually solicitous and gentle with Percy. He even went so far as to pull out his chair and order for him—the shrimp alfredo, which was a _huge_ concession on Newt’s part as he usually lectured Percy about the evils of eating seafood. Percy had to smile. They were back on the right track.

Newt got progressively more antsy as the meal went on. _Just ask me already,_ Percy wanted to say, but instead he played it cool. He didn’t feel like being too charitable with Newt; he was still a little raw from last night. “Want to share a dessert?” he suggested when the waitress cleared their plates.

“No, I—I don’t think that would be prudent.” Newt swallowed and leaned across the table. “Percy, you know I care for you very deeply, don’t you?”

Oh. Percy sat up straight. “Oh. Well. I…honestly, it doesn’t feel like it lately,” he admitted. He felt like laying it on thick, just a little; he didn’t want to forgive Newt _too_ easily, after all…but butterflies were quickly taking over his stomach. _This is it, he’s going to ask…_

“Ah. Yes…I gathered as much from your little temper fit last night,” Newt said with a grimace.

Percy’s fluttering heart sank like a stone. That…wasn’t good. “Temper fit,” he repeated carefully. “That’s what you’d call what happened last night?”

“Well, yes. I’ve never known you to act like that,” Newt said with a frown. “That was very…I don’t know. It was quite selfish, really. I thought you’d be happy for me and it was a little disconcerting that you were so angry. You really didn’t have to talk to me like that, you know.”

Percy didn’t want to hear anymore. His body understood, long before his mind caught up, that this was not a proposal. Chills crawled over his skin, and his tongue felt heavy in his mouth as he said softly, “Newt, you hurt me. I’m sorry if I was too harsh, but what you did…it really stung.”

“Well, that’s the point, actually. I’m trying to do something important, Percy, and you took it as a personal slight. How am I supposed to feel about that?”

“I don’t know. I’m human?” Percy offered with a shaky laugh. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help it that it hurts my feelings that you _forgot my birthday_ in your hurry to build swimming pools for sea creatures.”

Newt gave an impatient little jerk of his head. “It’s just a birthday, not like you don’t have one every year, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity—anyhow, I’m digressing.”

Percy felt the seafood pasta he’d just consumed turn to lead in his stomach as Newt took the little square box from his pocket and pushed it unceremoniously across the table to him. Inside was a key, and Percy felt tears come to his eyes. “This is the key to our apartment,” he observed flatly.

“Well, yes. I’ve already moved my things to Tina’s.”

“Tina?”

“Coworker of mine.”

“Oh.” Percy closed the box. “You…okay. You’re leaving me.”

“I just think we need some time apart.” Newt reached over and put his hand gently over Percy’s. “We’ve clearly got different priorities, and right now I think we’re both just too busy to be in a proper relationship.”

“Yeah, well.” Percy stood up, yanked his wallet out of his pocket, and slapped some money on the table. No way was he going to let the man who was breaking his heart buy him lunch. “Would’ve been really nice of you to work that out before I spent five years waiting for you to decide if you loved me.”

“I do love you,” Newt insisted. “I just think we want different things right now.”

“No. You don’t do this to someone you love, you just don’t.” Percy took a deep breath and jammed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He was not going to break down. Not in public. “I need to go. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Listen, maybe in a couple of months we can reassess—”

“This is not one of your fucking experiments,” Percy told him in a low voice. “Our relationship is not a shark that you’ve tagged, that you can leave in the wild and check on later. You don’t get to forget me for a few months and then come back when you’re ready to be my boyfriend. Do you want me, or not?”

Newt just sat at the table, looking utterly lost. “Why don’t you care about my work?” he fired back. “I’m trying to make the world a better place, and you—”

“I want,” Percy cut him off, “for you to, just once, choose me over an animal. Is that selfish? Maybe, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask.” His stomach hurt. He needed to get out, right now. “I have to go. I can’t be here right now.”

“I really think we should—”

“Newt, _I have to go._ You hurt me last night and you’re hurting me now, and if you don’t want to be with me I can respect that, but you don’t get to choose how I respond to it. I need to leave, and you need to let me. And if you follow me or try to insist on driving me back I will be really upset, so. Please don’t.”

And perhaps there was a god, because Newt let him go without another word. Percy called Seraphina to pick him up, which took about five minutes because the restaurant was not at all far from the law office. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked once they were safely shut up in her office.

Percy shook his head. Seraphina, God love her, immediately withdrew a bottle of Jameson from under her desk, poured a glass and handed it to Percy. “Drink. Relax,” she ordered, and he obediently sat down and drank. “There. Now, when do you leave for your trip again?”

“Supposed to be day after tomorrow. Don’t think I’m going now, though.”

“Oh yes you are. Newt does not get to ruin your birthday. Or your vacation.” She sat down behind her desk. “What’s the name of the resort?”

“Aulani.”

“And the airline?”

“Hawaiian.”

“Okay.” She scribbled both down on a sticky note. “Take a minute to pull yourself together and then go back to work. I’ll get this all fixed up for you.”

“Sera, I don’t think—”

“Percy, please…let me take care of you,” she said gently. “If you’re really that reluctant to admit that you need someone to baby you a bit right now, just call it a birthday present.”

He caved. Of course he caved. He could never say no to Seraphina. Especially not when she came to his office at the end of the day and informed him that his flight had been upgraded to first class, his room had been upgraded to a garden-view suite, and she’d arranged two spa treatments, a poolside cabana, and a night at the luau—all courtesy of the law firm. “Jesus Christ,” he breathed when she proudly informed him of the changes she’d made. “You can’t just…”

“Already done,” she said smugly. “One of the perks of being the boss.” She gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Now go enjoy yourself, and don’t you dare waste any of that trip pining. He doesn’t deserve you.”

“Thanks.” Percy’s smile dropped. He wished he could make himself believe her. 

Seraphina pulled him into a gentle hug and, safely hidden from the prying eyes of the junior partners and paralegals, Percy let her hold him, let just one tear fall down his face. “I know it hurts,” she said softly as her hand traced soothing circles across his back. “It’ll get better. I promise.”

Percy couldn’t say anything in reply. His throat had closed off, and he knew she was right, but he couldn’t _feel_ it. However it had ended, Newt had been a huge part of his life for the last five years. It was going to take some time to let that go.

~

Six hours after he arrived at the resort, Percy’s life changed forever.

Seraphina, goddess as she was, had arranged for Percy to have a hot-stone massage not an hour after he checked in, and to have dinner waiting for him at one of the signature restaurants right after that. It was the best birthday present she’d ever given him (and, considering that the year he turned thirty was the day she chose to tell him he’d made partner, that was really saying something).

The room was comfortable, the view absolutely lovely. Mellowed out from the massage and heavy meal, Percy went out on his balcony with a drink and looked out over the gardens, a smile curving his lips at the thought of having _seven whole days_ to spend here. He could see part of the pool and the courtyards from his room, and the sunset was not to be missed. Tomorrow, he thought idly as he looked out over the beautiful swimming pools, he would go down there and lounge in a poolside cabana, swim as long as he wanted, have a few drinks, lay out in the sun…he could do whatever he liked, there was no one here to stop him…

He made the mistake of looking down at his phone when he went back inside. The date glared at him in huge, unforgiving block letters and numbers: May 30.

With a sigh Percy went into the bathroom, drew the hottest bath he could stand, and spent a solid hour unwinding in the water. Came back out, had another drink, and watched _The Princess and the Frog_ on TV, which turned out to be a terrible idea because he started to get emotional sometime after “Ma Belle Evangeline” and by the wedding scene he was in tears.

He shut off the movie and went back outside, trying to draw some comfort from the fresh air. It was lovely, he thought with a pang, to be here in a suite with a balcony and a view, to have all these fun extras and treats arranged for him by Seraphina, all the delicious food and luxurious spa treatments…but, and he truly hated himself for being so weak, it still wasn’t enough.

He broke down and let himself imagine, even though he knew it would hurt, the phantom touch of a warm hand on his lower back, the sensation of a warm shoulder under his cheek, a soft voice in his ear. If Newt were here he’d complain about all the waste, but after that…after that, maybe he would admit that it smelled nice here, that the ocean air was soothing, that the night sky was pretty, the sunset absolutely unparalleled. Maybe he would take Percy inside now, lay him out, kiss him and say something sweet…it was nearly midnight, he realized with another pang; another ten minutes and, if Newt were here, Percy could start angling him for birthday sex.

 _Which is really no different from ordinary sex,_ Newt would tease him even as he pulled off their clothes, _unless you had something more adventurous in mind than usual._

“No need for adventure,” Percy murmured out loud, not bothering to wipe away the stray tears. Maybe if he ignored them, they’d dry up on their own. “I’d be happy just to have you.”

Because the reality was that if Newt were there he’d already be in bed, asleep, resting up for a flight to Kauai tomorrow morning. Abandoning Percy on his birthday for a pack of seals. Because that was just how he rolled, and Percy needed to accept that. _You promised Sera you wouldn’t pine,_ he told himself sternly. _You promised yourself you’d try to let it go. He didn’t love you. He tried, but he didn’t. Let him go. You don’t need him._

Maybe not, but still…it was like once he started crying, desperate as he was to stop he just couldn’t…like all of the pain that had been kept at bay by getting ready for the trip, then the adventure of flying out here and finally the pleasure of being at the resort, was suddenly coming out unchecked. Percy gave in, sat down hard on a balcony chair, dropped his head into his hands and let it out. Who cared? No one could hear him.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been crying when there was a knock on the door. Percy looked up, confused; it was definitely past midnight now, had Sera planned another surprise for him? He got up and went to the door, stopping in the bathroom to dry his face with a towel.

“Hey,” he said as he opened the door, “sorry I took so l—”

He froze when he saw the person waiting on the other side of the door: a tall and slender young man, waves of silky dark framing the loveliest face Percy had ever seen. “Hi,” the pretty boy said tentatively. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I was outside just now and I heard—well—you just sounded upset, so I thought I might…check on you.”

“Oh.” For a moment embarrassment warred with delight. On the one hand, it was horribly awkward to have been caught crying, but on the other hand, to be shown such touching concern by a beautiful stranger…well…in spite of himself Percy felt a smile coming on. “I’m all right,” he said, and suddenly knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that it was true.

And yet. The boy was smiling back now, concern still in his eyes, and when he reached out for a handshake Percy’s own arm rose as if magnetized, unable to resist the pull of being allowed to touch such soft, smooth skin. “My name is Credence,” the young man said as his long fingers closed around Percy’s hand.

“Percy. Nice to meet you, Credence.” The boy’s skin was every bit as soft as it looked, and Percy felt something inside him melting under that gentle touch. “Do you want to come in?” he offered impulsively.

Credence tilted his pretty head to one side, eyeing Percy with visible concern. “I mean…you really don’t have to ask…I just came to see if you needed help.”

“Please come in.” Percy wasn’t sure why he said what he did next, only that he _did_ and five minutes later he was very thankful he had. “It’s after midnight, right? It’s my birthday and I’m here by myself. Please.”

To his surprise, Credence actually smiled at that, and that smile was such a force of nature that Percy felt his knees actually, physically go weak at the sight. “Well. I can’t leave a guy alone on his birthday, can I?” Credence said, a little tinkle of laughter underneath the words.

“Knew you’d see it my way.” Percy stepped to the side so Credence could come in. The soft _click_ of the door as it closed behind him was full of beautiful, unspoken promises. Like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake after making a wish: final, but also not. A new beginning. Maybe the wish wouldn’t come true, but there was only one way to find out.

And Percy was ready and willing to take the chance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back with part 2! ^_^ 
> 
> I don't have a full playlist for you guys, I'm sorry...but I'm picturing [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGtBtRClzQ8) playing during the scene where Credence and Percy are talking in the cabana, and [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKe-sQ23f_Y) playing during the last scene, when Percy goes to the luau and then back to his room ;) Enjoy! <3

“Oh my God. You have _got_ to be kidding me!”

Percy laughed so hard he almost snorted his drink up his nose at the look on Credence’s face. They’d been sitting in the living area of the suite with the bottle of hotel-brand champagne that had no doubt been another treat from Seraphina, and what had started out as a polite meet-and-greet had quickly downgraded into a full on gossip-and-bitch-about-ex-boyfriends party. Percy had just informed his new friend that Newt had once shocked the hell out of him by suggesting they go to Aquatica while on a trip to Florida…only to learn that he was there to try and “liberate” the Commerson dolphins from the Dolphin Plunge ride.

“What the hell was his plan?” Credence looked shocked and absolutely delighted at the same time. “Smuggle them out in his beach bag?”

“Knowing Newt, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Percy finished off his drink and reached for the bottle. “And then,” he added as he filled his glass and topped off Credence’s, “he got angry with me, because I apologized to the security team that caught him.”

Credence rolled his eyes. “Sounds like a real prize…so, what was the last straw?”

Percy sighed heavily. “Well, I told you today was my birthday…guess where Newt was going to go if he came with me? To another freaking island, to build a hospital or hotel or some shit for native monk seals.”

Credence cocked his head to the side. “Okay. That’s bad, yeah, but not really any worse than the stuff you already told me.”

“It’s not that he was going. It was just…fuck, I don’t know.” Percy curled in on himself a little. Credence, apparently sensing that this conversation had moved into “I need a hug” territory, got up off the chair and came to sit beside Percy on the couch. “It wasn’t like he was assigned to go on that day and couldn’t get out of it. He’d rather do that, than spend the day with me. And he couldn’t get his head around why it upset me.”

Credence slid his hand into the crook of Percy’s arm. “That must have hurt.”

Percy let his head drop against Credence’s, a soft sigh escaping his lips. “The thing is, I’m not telling you about all the good stuff. The way he’d put his arm around me when I woke up from a nightmare…he wouldn’t even be awake but he’d know I needed him. The moonstone keychain he got me for our third anniversary, because he heard me say one time that I thought diamonds were ugly compared to moonstones.” He laughed a little, in a weak effort to keep from crying again. “He said _I love you_ for the first time in the middle of a fight, and when I ran out of the apartment he chased me into the hall, threw me against the wall and kissed me. It was like he was saying _be pissed at me all you want, but I care about you and I’m not letting you go—”_

He broke off, face pressed into Credence’s shoulder. Credence gave a sympathetic little hum and rubbed his back. “And then he let you go,” he finished softly, and Percy nodded against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Nothing to be done about it now.” Percy sighed and sat back up, pulling away from Credence. “I’m sorry. This is what you get for being nice to a stranger, right?” he joked halfheartedly. “You wanna know what sucks? I saw you at the door and my first thought was _God, he’s hot, quick, get him in your room.”_

Credence giggled and mock-swatted at his knee. “Why, Mr. Graves, I’m _not_ that kind of girl,” he quipped in a terrible imitation of a southern accent.

Percy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well. I’m not either. You don’t stay with a guy who can’t stand all the stuff you like for five years if you’re just out to get some.”

“Fair enough.”

“Yeah. What about you? Shit, I never even asked…what are you doing here?” He snuck a look at the clock. 12:37. Credence had been here over half an hour and Percy hadn’t asked even the most basic questions. Just leapt right into _here, have my whole pathetic life story._

“Oh, nothing so exciting as getting over a broken heart,” Credence told him with a teasing smile. “I’m here on business. I’m a wedding coordinator.”

“A wedding coordinator? What’s a wedding coordinator?” Percy asked, trying (and failing) to mimic Steve Martin’s voice.

“A person who coordinates weddings,” Credence shot back without missing a beat, and Percy had to bite his lips to not giggle like an idiot. “I’m not doing the Franck voice, I _can’t,”_ Credence added with a smile, “but I will own here and now that, yes, _Father of the Bride_ was the kick-start of my career. I hid that movie in my room like some kids snuck porn.”

Percy cocked his head at that. “You had to sneak _Father of the Bride_ into your house? What, were your parents anti-wedding?”

Credence’s smile faltered. “Uhh. God, how do I say this…you ever see _Carrie?”_

“Yeah?”

“My mother made Mrs. White look like Mary Poppins.” Credence shuddered and reached for his drink. “It’s okay,” he quickly added at Percy’s stricken face. “It was a long time ago. I’m all right, really. I got out, I survived; I’m here, aren’t I? Don’t feel sorry for me, Percy. Please. I can’t stand that.”

“No pity,” Percy promised. “But I reserve the right to do this, at least.” He picked up the champagne bottle and refilled Credence’s glass.

“That’s the extent of sympathy that I’ll accept,” Credence said mock-sternly, then smiled again as he tilted the glass to his lips. “But, yeah. I saw it on cable and then basically stole the VHS from our library.” He winced and added, “And I probably just dated myself. I’m twenty-six, for the record.”

“Never would’ve guessed. I would’ve figured twenty-one, maybe.”

“I get that a lot. Anyway, I’d get up at, God, maybe one or two in the morning and watch that thing until the tape wore out. It was just so…soft. I loved it.”

“Can’t blame you for that…want to know something embarrassing? First time I saw that movie I could’ve given a shit about the plot…I was too busy mooning over Kimberly Williams.”

“Oh really,” Credence said with a giggle. “To tell you the truth I didn’t even notice her at first, I was in love with her groom.”

“Yeah, he’s hot too,” Percy agreed shamelessly, and laughed when Credence gave him a wide-eyed look of fake shock. “Oh, come on. Like you’ve never met a bi person before.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you don’t have to give me the speech,” Credence said with a lazy stretch. “Personally, I never liked girls, don’t think I ever will. I mean. Never say never, I guess, but I kind of figured it out when I got to college and this guy at a frat party told me ‘now you can fuck all the women you want,’ and I freaked out so hard I ended up crying in the bathroom all night.” He winced and added, “I’m not as pathetic as I sound, I swear.”

“I’m sorry, you think _you’re_ pathetic? Of the two of us, last I checked you’re not the one spending your thirty-fifth birthday venting to a total stranger about the guy who ditched you to go hang around with a bunch of seals.”

“Fair,” Credence agreed with a giggle. He set aside his empty glass and stretched again. “It’s late. I should go, but…” He gave Percy a shy sideways look. “I think I’d like to see you again. If you don’t mind.”

“Oh really.” Percy stood up and Credence followed suit. “You’re saying you’d like to be my rebound fling, is that it?” he joked as they walked to the door.

He expected a laugh, maybe another eye-roll. Instead, Credence surprised him by catching his hand and kissing the back. “I would be _honored_ to be your rebound fling,” he said with a surprisingly straight face. “Wait for my signal.”

“Signal? What, like Batman?” Percy asked, distracted by the feeling of Credence’s soft skin and even softer lips against his hand.

Credence gave him one last smile. “Yeah. Something like that. You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” he said, and then he slipped out the door.

For a moment Percy just stood there staring at the closed door, shocked into silence by what had just happened. Somehow Credence had decided, in the midst of Percy alternating between moaning about his ex and trading quips from a shared favorite movie, that Percy was worth getting to know better. That…was definitely not a thing Percy had seen coming.

But one thing was for sure: he was definitely glad he’d listened to Seraphina and come to Hawaii now.

~

Percy had a ticket for the luau that night (thank you, Seraphina) but the rest of that day was wide open. Was it a little childish that Sera had also arranged for the delivery of a Mickey Mouse birthday cake? Well, yes, but the cake was delicious and Percy found he really didn’t mind being a little childish today; it was his day and he was spending it alone, so who was going to make him act his age, really?

So he ate birthday cake for breakfast out on the balcony of his suite, looking at the pool and courtyards like a prince surveying his kingdom. And even though he tried to fight it, inevitably he thought of Newt and couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of longing. Would it really, he wondered idly, have been so bad to just let Newt go? At least he could’ve persuaded Newt to let him come along; the seal sanctuary could have been fun. He did like animals, after all, even if Newt insisted he “didn’t care.”

But the longing was quickly replaced with irritation as he recalled, in vivid and painful detail, the dismissive way Newt had handled their fight. And despite what he’d told Credence about “remembering the good things,” suddenly all he could think of was how often Newt dismissed him so loftily, as if Percy would just have to get used to the fact that he would always be wrong.

 _No, we will_ not _go to Discovery Cove, don’t you know they’re affiliated with SeaWorld? No. If you want to see stingrays, try google images. I’ll never set foot in a tourist park like that, so selfish…_

 _No way am I taking you on a carriage ride—honestly, how could you even ask for such a thing? So disgusting, those people ought to be thrown in jail, the drivers_ and _the riders, those poor horses…_

_No! Are you mad? There’s no way I’m flying all the way to Ireland for only a week, Percy, really, what’s wrong with you? I don’t care if it is Christmas, that’s just too much waste…_

_Great God, no way in hell are we taking a cruise! We might as well just pour buckets of oil into the ocean. Why can’t you be satisfied with having a nice night in, why do we have to_ go _somewhere for our anniversary? Really, it’s just greedy to insist on travelling…_

The irritating thing about it was not, Percy reflected as he moodily stared down at the remains of his piece of cake, that Newt cared about the environment or about the animals. That was good. The irritating thing was that everything Percy wanted to do was wrong—even seeing his family for Christmas—while every time Newt wanted to take a trip it was suddenly necessary.

Or, and not to harp on the seal thing but, to put it plainly: Newt could hop on a plane from Oahu to Kauai to spend one day helping out with baby seals and pat himself on the back, while Percy was a selfish bastard for wanting to spend a week in Ireland.

It hurt. God, how it hurt. Maybe, Percy thought with a bitter laugh, that was the crux of it. He was tired of being told _no_ all the time, like a naughty child.

Well—he brightened a little—no point in moping about it today. It was a beautiful warm day, his _birthday,_ he was not going to spend it sulking in his hotel room. Especially not as he realized, with a delicious, almost devious little tremor of pleasure, there was no one here to say no to him. Not anymore.

Even by Percy’s standards, having a poolside cabana was a luxury. He stretched out on the lounger and read one of the trashy novels he’d brought along, nibbled at the fruit plate the cabana attendant brought him, ordered a coconut mojito and then another because, again—no one to tell him not to. He could have all the drinks he wanted, eat cake for breakfast, laze around in the sun until he couldn’t take it and then go for a swim to cool off. He could do anything he liked.

And he had to admit, it was _very_ lovely to be spoiled and waited on; all he had to do was ask and the cabana attendants would bring him whatever he wanted. Mentioning how much he appreciated the fruit got him another plate, this one full of rich desserts. Percy had to wonder, closing his eyes in bliss as he bit into a chocolate strawberry, if he’d died and gone to heaven. He ordered another drink, this one nice and tangy with a pretty blue color. “Oh, that’s good. I’m gonna need like, three more of these,” he told the attendant.

“They’re addictive, aren’t they?” the man grinned. “How you doing on water? Need a restock?”

Percy had yet to go near the bottles of water in his mini-fridge. “Nah, I’m good. Just another one of the Blue Hawaiians, please.”

Sometimes the Newt-voice would creep in— _for God’s sake, Percival, at least ask them to not put plastic straws in the drinks!_ —but he learned over the course of the day to tune it out…until a new voice, not one in his head but a real one, startled him so badly as he reclined on the edge of the pool that he nearly sank under the surface: “You really should get out of the sun.”

Percy slipped off the edge and splashed down, choking on a mouthful of water. When he’d recovered sufficiently he looked up to see Credence standing over him, now sharply dressed in a sparkly blazer and with his hair perfectly styled, looking much more like the celebrity wedding planners he’d seen on TV.

Percy’s heart did a cartwheel. But he did his best to sound as cool and easy as Credence had the previous night as he carefully took his place leaning back against the wall of the pool again and said, “Well, I mean, it’s _Hawaii._ The sun is…kind of what I came for, you know?”

Credence just raised his eyebrows at Percy. “Yeah, but not _all day,_ that’s not healthy. And please tell me you’re not drunk. You sound drunk.”

“I may have had a mojito. Or two. But hey…it’s my birthday, I’m on vacation, I have all the excuses, right?” He frowned as he realized— “How exactly do you know how long I’ve been in the sun? Have you been watching me?”

“Not on purpose. Just supervising the prep for the wedding tonight.” He gestured to the patio at the end of the pool, which was already being cleared and set up for a wedding reception. “Are you okay? Have you eaten anything today? God, at least tell me you’re wearing sunscreen…”

He looked concerned, and Percy couldn’t help but feel annoyed. This _was_ the same guy who’d stayed up until one-thirty in the morning drinking champagne with him, right? Who’d flirted and said _wait for my signal_ like they were in a rom-com? And now he was acting…Percy’s stomach turned uncomfortably…he was acting like Newt. “I don’t need adult supervision,” he muttered as he looked down at the surface of the water.

“Percy, please…listen to me,” Credence said, his voice low and gentle but unmistakably commanding. “You need to get out of the pool, go inside where it’s air conditioned and eat something. You’re going to make yourself sick.”

“No! God, I came here to get away from someone badgering me,” Percy complained. It took him two tries to push himself up out of the water; he was too physically relaxed from drinking and floating in the water and napping in the sun, and it didn’t help his case. He could feel Credence’s eyes on him as he took the first few staggering steps towards his cabana. He hit his stride as he walked away, but then froze at the feeling of a slender hand on his shoulder. “It’s none of your business if I drink or—or tan, or swim, or—do anything,” he stammered, but—fuck—

Percy felt hot tears pricking his eyes and God, no, he didn’t want to be sad right now, he wanted to be indignant, furious even! Who the hell did this little smartass think he was? One champagne-fueled conversation on the couch and an innocent little kiss to the back of his hand didn’t mean they were boyfriends, the kid had no _right_ to be concerned! He didn’t own Percy, he—he—

He was leading Percy back to the cabana, patting him down with a soft towel, settling him down in a chair in the shade. “I’m fine,” Percy insisted, grabbing the towel and drying his eyes.

“I’m sure you are, but I’ll feel better when you drink some water.” Percy heard the fridge door open and close, felt the chilled bottle being pressed into his hand. “Please? For me,” Credence coaxed him gently.

Percy looked up to meet Credence’s eyes, ready to tell him to fuck off again…but he caught sight of the look of anxious concern on the younger man’s face, and his angry words died on his lips. No. No, he wasn’t ready to be this vulnerable in front of someone again, Credence was supposed to be a fun mysterious vacation fling, not…not _this._ “I don’t want you to see me like this,” he tried to explain.

“I understand, but…” Credence took hold of Percy’s wrist, the hand that was holding the water bottle, and pushed it closer to Percy’s mouth. “It just doesn’t feel right to leave you alone right now.”

Percy pushed back, resisting Credence’s efforts to get him to drink. “I’m fine,” he insisted unhappily. “I’m _fine—”_

But he wasn’t fine, which became readily apparent when his head fell against Credence’s chest of his own accord, and tears were leaking out without his consent. “You’re okay,” Credence said soothingly, one hand stroking Percy’s hair with an almost unnatural tenderness. “I’m here, it’s okay.”

“I hate him,” was Percy’s choked reply. “Fuck, I want to, at least. Fucker just told me what to do all the time, managed me like a little fuckin’ kid and _I let him_ and now I just want to do what I want to do, I— _fuck_ —just let me—”

And then he was crying, really crying, and Credence, ignoring his wet swimsuit and messy tears, sat right down with him, sort of in Percy’s lap with both of his legs draped sideways across Percy’s knees, pulling him down so that his head was safely cradled in the crook of Credence’s neck. “I’ve got you,” he said softly. “You can be sad. It’s okay.”

“I don’t want to—”

“Sh-h-h. Let it out. It’s okay. I’m right here with you.”

Percy finally caved and let himself cry, let Credence fuss over him. When his tears were finally spent he drank one little bottle of water, and then another. He was surprised at how thirsty he felt all of a sudden, like his body had just been waiting for him to remember how good cold water tasted on a hot day. 

Credence then proceeded to slather him with aloe after-sun lotion, worrying aloud the whole time about whether or not Percy had worn enough sunscreen. “You don’t seem burned, not much anyway,” he said as he worked the cream into Percy’s back and shoulders, “but maybe just to be safe you should stay mostly in the shade tomorrow.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Percy groaned as his head rolled forward, so lost in the pleasure of feeling Credence’s strong hands working at his already-loose muscles that he could have quite happily agreed to anything in that moment.

“There we go. Feeling better now?” Credence squeezed his shoulders one last time and then let go. “I know you’re having a hard time right now, and if you don’t want to do anything, we don’t have to. But please at least take care of yourself, okay? Be good to yourself. You deserve that, even if you don’t feel like it at the moment.” He came around to the front and cupped Percy’s face in his hands, stroking Percy’s cheeks with his thumbs. “I’d just like to be here for you, okay? As a new…friend, if that’s all you can handle right now.”

Percy reached up and gently took hold of Credence’s wrists, feeling the delicate thrum of the younger man’s pulse under his thumbs. “I do want you. Well. I like you, at least. I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier, I’m just…” He managed a little laugh. “Just feeling a little off right now.” He looked away, let his voice break (as if he could stop it!) and admitted, “I loved someone, and it feels like overnight it’s been ripped away and…and something new has been shoved in its place, and I like you, a lot, I just…I want you, but I don’t want to be unfair to you.”

Credence stood up and reached out to stroke Percy’s hair again, a look of tender fondness in his eyes. “What are you doing tonight?”

“My best friend arranged for me to go to the luau.” Percy looked up into those lovely dark eyes, thrilled to the core to have Credence look at him like that. Like he was special. Like he was _wanted._ “Why? Why do you…I mean…is it just…do you just like the way I look, or—”

“No. I mean yeah, you’re hot, but that’s not it,” Credence said candidly, and Percy felt his already sun-heated face flush. “I like you,” he said gently, “because you’re charming and sweet and easy to talk to…because when I told you about my past last night you listened when I said I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me…because”—this with an innocently rakish smile—“you have very good taste in movies.”

Percy stood up too, vainly fighting for some semblance of an upper hand. “That’s hardly enough to develop a crush on someone,” he pointed out, but he knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on. After all, he could hardly argue that they hadn’t known each other long enough when he too was ready to lay his still-fragile heart at this beautiful boy’s feet.

A slender arm looped itself around his waist, and pulled him in close. “Go to your luau tonight,” Credence ordered him. “It’s all you can eat and the food is great, so promise me you’ll pig out and go easy on the booze. And go right back to your room afterwards. Promise me.”

Percy sighed. Credence clearly owned him already; there was no denying it. “I promise.”

“Thank you.”

Credence leaned in, and for a shocking moment Percy thought Credence might kiss him, right here in the pool area where anyone could walk by and see them, and sure, he’d been out for years now but there was something scandalous in it, wasn’t there, kissing a near-stranger in public? But Credence didn’t kiss him. What he did instead was even more shockingly intimate. He gently touched their foreheads together and just looked into Percy’s eyes for a long moment before he smiled, let go and walked away, once again leaving Percy reeling.

~

The Aulani luau was a real party, and Percy had to admit Seraphina had really knocked it out of the park when she’d signed him up for this. And Credence was right: even though Percy didn’t have much of an appetite, the food _was_ good. And the show was absolutely spectacular. For a blissful three hours Percy let himself get caught up in the dances, the storytelling, the music and the excitement, without worrying about whether the emotions he felt were real or just what he thought he should be feeling…

As he meandered back to his room, pausing here and there to snag cell phone pictures of the pretty hotel grounds, he realized that for those few hours he hadn’t thought about Newt once…or, he thought with a little jolt of his stomach as he stopped in his tracks, Credence.

Right. Credence. That was a thing he was going to have to deal with.

He wasn’t naive enough to think this was love at first sight. Credence made him dizzy, made his knees go weak and his heart flutter, but he’d felt that a hundred times for a hundred people throughout the years. His prom date in high school, his first lover in college, the sorority girls he’d flirted with on lonely nights as a stupid undergrad, the handsome guys from accounting who had dazzled him during his first weeks as an intern during law school. He hadn’t been in love with them, and he was pretty damn sure he wasn’t in love with Credence. The kid was sweet, sure, but he was a balm for Percy’s broken heart, nothing more.

But if that was the case…Percy resumed walking with purpose…he might as well enjoy it while it lasted. Credence _would_ be a fun vacation fling, maybe one with whom he could be a little more emotional, but certainly not the love of his life. But that was okay, wasn’t it? He didn’t need to be in love to have a good time.

And then he got back to his room, and his heart stopped.

Hundreds of tiny electric candles filled the room with a soft, intimate glow. From the door Percy could see the bathtub had been filled, white foam topped off with red rose petals, a single long-stem red rose resting on the edge of the tub. There was some kind of gentle piano music in the background. As Percy cautiously edged his way further into the suite he saw a plate of chocolates on the table under the TV, another bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket, and…in the middle of it all…Credence. Sweet, wonderful Credence, just standing there and looking at Percy with an expression so tender it made him weak.

“Happy birthday,” Credence said softly, and Percy all but hurled himself into the younger man’s open, waiting arms.

The first kiss was messy, wet and inelegant and frantic, and yet it was the best damn kiss Percy ever had. Credence laughed against his lips, _slow down, let’s enjoy it,_ and Percy could only groan in pleasure as those soft, pouty lips pressed tiny angel kisses all over his face and down the curve of his sensitive neck. Warm, long-fingered hands dove under his shirt, stroking his lower back and sending more thrills of pleasure sparking down his spine.

Percy couldn’t remember the last time he’d been kissed like _this,_ like his partner hadn’t had a square meal in weeks and had just decided to devour him instead. Credence was everywhere, warm and solid and very, _very_ real in his arms, and he smelled so good—the rose and jasmine of his cologne mingling with something musky and enticing that could only be _his_ natural scent—and the sensory richness of it all enveloped Percy like a cloud. He was dizzy, aching, absolutely drunk on the beauty of the moment—and so, _so_ hungry for more; his greed would have made Satan himself blush.

“Bed,” he heard himself gasp out between kisses. “Bed, _now.”_

His hands worked furiously at Credence’s clothes, pushing his blazer off and tugging at the buttons of his silk shirt. Credence sucked messy, possessive marks into the crook of his neck, his hands gripping Percy’s hips as though he were afraid Percy might run away. “Easy,” he breathed into Percy’s skin. “Easy, honey. I’m not going anywhere. Just want to feel you.” But he held on tight as Percy impatiently pushed his shirt from his shoulders and purposefully rocked his slender hips against Percy’s, as if to remind him who was really in charge.

Pleasure rolled through Percy like the waves on the beach outside. Pleasure, and more of that raw, aching hunger, _more more more_ pinging off the walls of his foggy brain like a pinball. “I want,” he breathed, and then groaned deeply as Credence’s hands plunged inside his shirt, long fingers splaying out across his back like angel wings. “I want you to make love to me,” he managed, hips twitching against Credence’s, “and I don’t care, fuck, I don’t _care_ if it’s too soon, if this is just temporary, I don’t care, I want, I _need—”_

Credence swallowed up his pleas with another fierce kiss that sucked Percy’s breath, his desire, his very soul. _He could eat me alive like a vampire,_ Percy thought hazily, his skin tingling with the anticipation of pleasure as Credence swept his shirt over his head and made quick work of his belt, _and I’d let him, I’d thank him for it, he can have all of me, he can have anything he wants._

Some tiny rational part of him knew that it was wrong, it was too soon, he was still vulnerable; that he needed to protect what was left of his heart, not willingly tear it out and hand it over to the first beautiful man who made him feel safe and wanted. But—the backs of his knees hit the bed and he was on his back, Credence leaning over him, still kissing every bit of skin he could reach—Percy was too far gone to care.

“I want you,” Credence breathed as he drew Percy’s slacks and underwear down in one smooth motion, and drew a pitchy wine from Percy when he leaned down to kiss the inside of his thigh. “I want to make you _mine.”_

“Have me,” Percy said with a delirious little laugh, his back arching helplessly as Credence kissed up his thigh and hip, across his nearly concave stomach. “You can— _ooh_ —you can have anything you want.”

Credence kissed his way back up the length of Percy’s body, slow and tender and absolutely deliberate, teasing soft gasps and pleading moans from him with obvious intent. He stopped at the very base of Percy’s neck, mapping the delicate skin there with his tongue. One warm hand rested protectively over Percy’s hip as Credence whispered in his ear, “All I want is to make you feel good.”

And oh, he certainly got his wish. Percy surrendered to him with willing abandon, the rational part of his mind long shut off. He let himself open up to Credence in every way he knew how, whispered words of need and trust and pure, raw feeling spilling from his lips as his body parted to let his lover slip inside. _I need you. Claim me. Let me belong to you._

It wasn’t that he was starved for sex; Newt hadn’t exactly been a slouch in the bedroom. But he liked to use sex the way he used affection: it was something conditional, something to be earned, rather than an act of love freely performed. And it was exhausting, honestly, to always question himself in the moment, always wonder if it was okay, if they were okay or if the sweet nothings and tender touches would later be held against him like evidence in a court of law _(“we just had sex, what else can you possibly want as proof that I love you?”)._

There was nothing conditional about this. No fears attached to the way Credence made him feel. Percy was safe here, in this bath of dim golden light with this beautiful boy holding him down and letting him fly at the same time. Here he could be as needy as he wanted. Credence gave freely, gave him every kind of pleasure and as much of it as he could take, until he cried out his sweetheart’s name with increasing desperation and his hold on Credence tightened before it went slack, _that’s it, that’s it, oh god I love this, I need this, I need you._

When it was over he held Credence to his chest like a teddy bear, his heartbeat slowly dropping back to a normal speed as his breath evened out. Percy felt like a wind was blowing through him, hot and chill-inducing at the same time, scattering his fractured thoughts like fallen leaves, and as the haze of emotion and lust cleared from his mind he knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he would never be the same again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the chapter count is up. I needed to add an epilogue. ;)

“Can I ask you something?” Credence asked what felt like hours later, while they were curled up in the bathtub together.

“Sure,” Percy agreed as he lazily stroked a hand up and down Credence’s back. The scent of rose petals and coconut hung heavy in the air around him and the heat of the bath made him feel peaceful and safe.

Credence shifted uneasily in his arms. “When we were…having fun…earlier, did the scars bother you at all?”

“What scars?”

Credence lifted his head to stare at Percy. “On my back? You’re…like, you’re  _ touching it _ right now, how can you not…?”

Percy pressed a little harder, explored with his fingertips, and found traces of raised skin over Credence’s spine. “Oh. Well, no, I didn’t even notice,” Percy admitted candidly. “I mean. You were kind of railing my brains out so, in my defense, scar tissue was not the thing I was thinking about at that point in time.”

Credence giggled and rested his head against Percy’s shoulder. “Well, then. Guess that answers that.”

“Have other people given you shit for that?”

“Not really, but I get…looks,” Credence admitted. “People feel sorry for me.”

“I don’t. God, are you kidding? I think you’re fucking incredible,” Percy said bluntly, and was promptly rewarded with a dizzying kiss.

“So, what do you think, can I stay the night?” Credence asked playfully when they broke apart.

Percy laughed and nuzzled his neck. “Just try and make me let you go.”

~

They stayed up late, talking about nothing and everything. Percy learned that Credence had grown up in New York, but left home at the tender age of fourteen and moved in with a distant cousin of his. The man had a bakery and specialized in providing treats for weddings and parties, and Credence had fallen in love with the idea of doing something like that—planning events, especially weddings. Being with people on the happiest days of their lives.

“I’ve met other runaways, other people who had a rough start,” he said, “and a lot of them ended up as nurses, judges, social workers, things like that…they said they wanted to save lives, make a difference. But I always thought making people happy could be just as important as giving them medicine.”

His career had taken off when a friend of a friend had been picked for Disney’s wedding reality show, and he’d been specially requested because she liked what he’d done for her friend’s (considerably less elaborate) wedding. He’d risen to the occasion, went to sleep the night the episode aired and woke up with more business than he’d known what to do with. But instead of embracing the David Tutera, celebrity-reality-TV life he lived in Vermont now, sharing a house with a few friends as a “home base” between all the traveling he did for work.

In return Percy shared a bit of his own story: his childhood in Ireland, going to New York for school and falling in love with it, gaining a best friend as well as a boss when he went to work for Seraphina. Credence didn’t ask about Newt, and Percy didn’t feel a need to bring him up again. That, he decided, was very firmly in the past. No need to drag it out.

Eventually they tired of talking and went to bed. The second time they had sex Credence rode Percy instead of fucking him, laying him out and tasting him all over like an all-you-can-eat buffet before slowly grinding down on him and teasing him until Percy was pleading for release; only then did he hold Percy in place and sink down on his aching cock. 

“Versatile. I like it,” Percy panted as Credence began to move, and then his eyes rolled up as he felt that perfect heat clenching around him, and after that no more words were needed.

They slept in an unromantic sweaty tangle and woke up to the sound of Percy’s cell going off. He groaned, rolled over, and shut it off without looking. If it was that important, they could leave a message.

“Who was it?” Credence asked sleepily. “And what time is it?”

Percy couldn’t help but laugh as he rolled back over and pulled Credence into his arms. “Does it matter?” he said. “Not like we have anywhere to be.”

Credence sighed and snuggled up to him. “I do have to be at work at ten. Oh, and last night I pre-ordered breakfast to be delivered to your room because…”

He trailed off, but Percy already knew. “Because you were so sure you’d be getting lucky last night?” he teased Credence.

Credence pulled back just enough to look at him with a lusty smile that Percy knew would haunt his dreams when he got back to New York. “I never dreamed I’d get  _ this _ lucky,” he murmured, and rolled them over so that he was on top.

They kissed, long and soft and slow, hands straying and exploring the places they’d so recently discovered to make each other shudder and moan. Credence’s mouth was  _ perfect, _ full and plush and he tasted so good, and when he probed Percy’s lips with his tongue the only thing to do, really, was open up and let him take what he wanted.

One thing led to another and there they were again, wrapped up in a tangle of arms and legs and sweat and  _ need. _ The noises that Credence managed to pull from him would have been embarrassing, if Percy’d been in a state of mind to care about such things. But all he cared about then was how good it felt to lose himself in Credence’s warm, lithe body. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d held or been held like this, the last time sex made him feel so  _ appreciated. _

“God, that was so good,” Credence sighed when they were done, his head pillowed on Percy’s chest like it had belonged there since the beginning of time. Percy didn’t reply. Just held him tight like there was no chance he’d ever let go.

_ This is a vacation fling, _ he reminded himself sternly.  _ You’re going home in a few days and you’ll probably never see him again. You’re still recovering, you’re still hurt, the last thing you need is to trick yourself into thinking you’re in love. _ But God, it was hard to  _ not _ feel like he was falling for this man, and Percy knew damn well from past experience that once he fell, he was down for the count.

~

Credence had to leave after breakfast to work the “goodbye brunch” for his wedding clients, which left Percy the rest of the morning and early afternoon to do whatever he wanted  _ (not that you’re guaranteed to see him again, _ he told himself firmly). Unlike the previous day he didn’t try to use it as an excuse to get drunk and laze around in the sun. Instead, he took a ukelele lesson and went to the resort’s art gallery for a tour, then spent a bit more time exploring the resort, which really was very pretty, before having lunch by the pool. A soak in the hot tub and another long walk later, and he was back in his room feeling much,  _ much _ better than he had yesterday.

Well. Yesterday afternoon, that is. He had to smile at how very,  _ very _ good he’d felt by the end of last night.

Not two minutes after he got back to the room, Credence sent him a text.  **Any opinions on fish or seafood?**

**Love it,** he texted back.  **Why, did you want to get dinner tonight, maybe? ;)**

A few minutes later he got a reply:  **Meet me at the beach rental kiosk at 6:30 tonight. I have a surprise in mind that I think you’ll really like. <3**

Oh really. Percy tried to tamp it down, tried to scold himself into submission, but his heart was already skipping, butterflies popping into existence in his stomach, and he knew it was useless.  He tried to distract himself with trashy TV, but even the guilty pleasures of  _ America’s Funniest Home Videos _ couldn’t take his mind off of what was so clearly happening. Like it or not, he had to accept that he was really starting to fall for Credence, and judging by the way the younger man seemed hell bent on caring for him and spoiling him to no end, well, to say the feeling seemed to be mutual was an understatement.

Percy sighed, leaned back on the couch and let the fantasies unspool. Credence coming to work functions with him, Credence meeting his family back in Ireland, Credence matching wits with Seraphina, Credence trying the chicken shawarma at Percy’s favorite restaurant in his hometown, Credence walking around Central Park with him, Credence coming with him to see the Rockefeller tree at Christmas. Just.  _ Credence. _ In his home, in his bed, in his  _ life. _

_ You’re already in love you moron, _ he mentally screamed at himself.  _ You’re not a week out from the worst breakup of your life and you’re already in love. _

But did it matter? It felt good to be with Credence, to feel appreciated, to know that Credence wasn’t judging him or trying to “educate” him but just wanted to  _ be with him. _ The loss of Newt had stung, but maybe Percy didn’t need time to mourn. Maybe some things just didn’t need to happen on the “normal” timetable.

~

“Okay, have I mentioned yet that you’re literally the best and I’m going to have a monument made for you as soon as I get back to New York?”

“Oh my God, Percival. It’s like, a couple of fish sandwiches and some coconut shrimp,  _ you don’t need to build me a shrine!” _ Credence protested, and then giggled when Percy responded very maturely by throwing a french fry at him.

The surprise Credence had planned turned out to be a picnic on the beach, just as the sun was beginning to sink on the horizon. It was, as Credence had pointed out, simple food—fish sandwiches, coconut shrimp, french fries, tropical fruit cups, and pineapple cupcakes—but there was something inherently magical about eating on the beach at sunset, with the man he now knew he was on the verge of loving, and Percy wouldn’t have noticed if they were eating sawdust.

“I mean it,” he insisted when they’d recovered. “I want to do something for you. Especially after the way you’ve spoiled me the last couple of days.”

“Let me come visit you in New York.”

The words dropped like a bombshell, their meaning not lost on either of them. For a moment there was nothing but the sound of the waves on the beach, and the realization that what Credence had just put out there could not be reeled in.

“Is that really what you want, sweetheart?” Percy asked, the endearment slipping out without his consent.

Credence shrugged and looked down at his plate. “I mean. Yeah. If you’re, you know, all right with—no, forget it, I just realized how this sounds and—”

“Credence, look at me.” He reluctantly raised his eyes, and Percy reached over to take his hand. “I think we want the same thing,” he said carefully. “Not to sound like a Hallmark Christmas movie that I wouldn’t be caught dead watching—”

“—and yet the fact that you  _ know _ you sound like a Hallmark Christmas movie suggests otherwise,” Credence interjected with a teasing smile.

“—but I already feel like I know you,” Percy went on, skilfully ignoring the dig about the movies. “And I’d like a chance to know you better.”

Credence nodded slowly. “Vermont and New York aren’t really so very far apart,” he pointed out tentatively. “I could take a train to see you a couple of times, maybe? See how it goes? It’s just,” he added in a rush, “it’s just that I know you—you just got hurt, really bad, and I don’t want to  _ make _ you give me a chance, I need to earn that, but—”

“Are you kidding me?” Percy put both of their plates aside and pulled Credence in so close that the younger man was practically in his lap. “Sweetheart, you  _ have _ earned a chance. More than a chance, even. You…” He sighed and buried his face in the boy’s long neck, relishing the sweet smell of his hair. “God, I can’t even explain it.”

“You’re vulnerable and you just want someone to care?” Credence offered, trying to make it sound like a joke…but Percy could hear both pain and anticipation in his voice.

“No, I want  _ you _ to care.” Percy held onto him tightly. “I want you to care because  _ I want you.” _

Credence sounded a little choked up as he began, “And I want you…” Percy pulled back just in time to see tears in Credence’s eyes, even as his lips hesitantly twitched into a smile. “More than I can even tell you.”

“Oh, sweetheart—” Percy couldn’t take it anymore, he drew Credence in and sealed their mouths together with a fervor that suggested this kiss may well be their last. Credence gasped in surprise but returned the kiss with equal intensity, tangling his fingers in Percy’s hair and holding on tight. The rest of the world was inconsequential and it was just the two of them, just their bodies pressed together under the golden rays of the setting sun. Percy could taste the saltiness of Credence’s tears, could feel the wetness on his cheeks, and the knowledge that they were tears of happiness shed  _ for him _ made his heart swell to bursting.

“Let me be good to you now,” Percy murmured when the kiss eventually ended. “Let me show you how I badly I want you, love. Please.”

Credence laughed through his tears. “You don’t have to beg…I think we both know I can’t say no to you.”

Percy cupped a wet cheek in his hand and brushed stray tears away with his thumb. “Then let me love you.”

~

Back in the now-familiar suite, Percy took charge. He undressed Credence with care and laid him out in bed, and took his time kissing and touching and loving Credence as well as he knew how. He worshipped every inch of the scarred back, memorizing every dip and curve, every mole and freckle, every place to touch that made Credence tremble under his hands.

And then, when the sweet young thing was begging for more, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Credence into his lap, the way he knew Credence loved, and slipped inside him. “That’s it love,” he murmured as Credence moved up and down, setting the exact pace he wanted, bliss written in his dazed eyes as Percy hit just the right spot inside him. “Take what you want, darling. I’m all yours.”

Credence pressed their foreheads together, held Percy’s shoulders tight enough to bruise as he gave himself over to the pleasure threatening to overwhelm them both. “I think—oh God—Percy,” he panted, his head snapping back and his eyes squeezing shut as he got close to the edge,  _ “fuck, _ I think I—I think I love you—”

He came with a sob, clenching down on Percy and clamping both arms around him like an octopus, his heated face buried shamefully in Percy’s neck. Percy held him and laid back, letting Credence’s quivering body sink into his. “Sh-h-h, don’t cry.” He rubbed the younger man’s trembling back, the other arm clamped firmly around his waist to send the message  _ you’re okay, I want you to be here. _ “You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re good. Don’t be scared. I’ve got you.”

He knew what Credence was feeling now, the tentative hope and threatening anxiety of baring your heart, and he wanted to scream it back but he couldn’t. Not yet. He didn’t want to offer the words up as mere reassurance. He wanted to tell Credence he loved him in a moment when they both knew he meant it.

~

Some time later there was a knock at the door. Credence raised his head from Percy’s shoulder with an adorably confused look. They’d been wrapped up in their own little bubble for a while now, talking and cuddling and kissing, and all Credence had to say when the outside world (literally) came knocking was, “Did we actually order that pizza, or did we just talk about doing it?”

“I thought it was just an idea.” Percy started to pull away. “Stay here, sweetheart. Whoever it is I’ll get rid of them. Probably just housekeeping or something.”

“No, stay.” Credence disentangled himself from Percy and got out of bed. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said mischievously as he stole Percy’s still-buttoned dress shirt and slid it over his head. “How do I look? Like I’m in a movie?”

Percy rolled his eyes, but he smiled and played along, tucking the sheet in around him and posing as if he too were a character in a movie. “The post-sex shuffle,” he chuckled. “Wonder how many of  _ these _ the staff has seen.”

Credence was still giggling as he went to the door and threw it open. From his angle on the bed, Percy couldn’t see who it was, but he knew with aching certainty the owner of the voice that said, “Oh, I apologize for disturbing you, sir. I must have the wrong room. I was told I could find Percival Graves here, you see.”

Percy’s heart stopped. He scrambled to get out of bed, yanking on his boxer-briefs and the first t-shirt he could get his hands on, as he heard Credence reply coolly, “I think I already know, but who’s asking?”

“I’m…a friend,” Newt replied cautiously, just as Percy skidded around the corner. His face brightened when he laid eyes on Percy, and then fell as he seemed to realize what was happening. Newt was many things, after all, but stupid was not one of them. “Oh…Percival. Hello.”

“Don’t  _ hello _ me. You’re  _ not _ a friend,” Percy said coldly, his hands coming to rest protectively on Credence’s shoulders. “What the hell are you even doing here?”

“Well, I had a flight scheduled from Kauai to here, so I—I came to see if we could work things out,” he said stiffly. “I decided we had too much history to throw it away on such an…inconsequential argument.”

“Oh, you decided. Well. That was grand of you,” Percy snapped. “Never mind all the pain and misery you inflicted on me, thank God  _ you _ decided, by yourself, to come and grace me with your presence.”

Newt frowned. “There’s no need to be rude.”

“Coming from the dumbass who’s here uninvited at almost ten o’clock at night, that’s rich,” Credence said with an inelegant snort.

“Excuse me, but this is between Percival and myself, so if you could just—”

“Oh no you don’t,” Percy cut him off. “There  _ is _ nothing between us, Newt. And if you recall,  _ you _ were the one who wanted it that way.”

Newt sighed impatiently, as if this whole thing were some kind of inconvenience that Percy had created just to spite him. “You really don’t have to be so hostile. I just want a few minutes of your time. And then you can go back to…” He looked awkwardly to Credence. “Whatever…activities…you had planned.”

“Oh my God, you have a pair on you,” Credence breathed, sounding more impressed than angry. “Okay, Percy. I’m going to get dressed and go back to my room. Give you a chance to sort this out.”

“No, but—”  _ Stay, _ he wanted to plead. It would break his heart to see Credence go, even just for the night. “Give us a minute,” he barked at Newt, and then pulled Credence back to the main room and out of sight as the door closed. “Please don’t leave me,” he all but begged. “I’ll make him go away, I swear.”

Credence gave him a soft look. “I’m not leaving you,” he promised gently. “I just think you two need to talk. And if I stay I’ll just end up ripping into him.”

As appealing as the idea was of letting Credence have a real go at Newt, Percy knew Credence was right. He needed to see this through. “Go,” he conceded reluctantly, “but for the love of God come back when I call you. Please.”

“I will,” Credence promised. “And…I hate to say it, but Percy?” His eyes suddenly became suspiciously shiny. “Don’t—um. Don’t just choose me because you’re angry. Please.”

Percy’s heart nearly stopped. “What the hell does that mean?”

Credence couldn’t quite meet his eyes as he said, “Oh, I think you know.”

~

“I really don’t see why we could have done this at the hotel.”

Percy rolled his eyes. Newt had complained the whole drive from Aulani to the nearest Target, which was blessedly open until 11:00, about how much gas they were wasting when there was a perfectly good hotel room sitting empty. But Percy couldn’t bear to have this conversation there. That was  _ their spot, _ his and Credence’s, the place where they’d met, had their first kiss, their first time. No way could he taint it with the discussion he now had to have with Newt.

So now they were sitting in the empty cafe, Percy nursing an Icee while Newt, of course, turned up his nose at the mass-produced food. “You know, most guys wouldn’t  _ want _ to be in the room where the person they’re trying to win over just fucked another man,” Percy pointed out.

Newt shrugged. “It hardly matters. He’s just a one night-stand, isn’t he? Things like that happen on vacation, I won’t hold it against you,” he said reassuringly.

Percy couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh or cry. “Well. Thanks.” He looked down at his Icee and recognized, almost as if it were happening to someone else, the abject insanity of this whole situation. “Newt…are you going to apologize for what you did? Because if that’s not happening, we might as well call this whole thing off now.”

Newt tilted his head innocently. “What is there to apologize for? We had a difference of opinion.”

No…now he definitely was going to cry. “Oh God. I can’t take this,” Percy sighed, dropping his face into his hands. “You come here to try and get me back and you’re not even going to say you’re sorry, really?”

“Percy…I never meant to hurt you.” Newt’s voice softened, lowered to a familiar cadence that he’d only ever used when they were alone, and like Pavlov’s proverbial dog Percy looked up and met his eyes, recalling what it was like to love Newt, to crave the attention he so easily lavished on his animals. “Can we just talk reasonably for a minute?” he coaxed Percy. “It’s just I’ve thought about it, and I really don’t think one fight is worth throwing away what we had.”

“See, that’s the problem…” Percy sighed and stirred his melting Icee. “You don’t get to just…to just blow me off, and then come back and say ‘no, I changed my mind, you’re worth it after all.’ You don’t even care—”

“Stop saying that,” Newt protested. “I care plenty, I just don’t see what right you have to be cross with me. If I’d done something wrong of course I would have made it up to you.”

“Newt. You didn’t just have to work. If it’d been that,  _ maybe _ I would’ve let it go…though considering how many times you’ve ditched me to go smile and take photos with a chinchilla, I still might’ve been pissed…but you went  _ out of your way _ to turn what was supposed to be our vacation, into a work trip.” To Percy’s horror his voice quivered at the end of the sentence. His heart was racing again, his face heating up. God, why was it so easy to stay calm and collected no matter how many insults someone threw at him in court, but so hard to tell the man he’d once loved what he needed?

Newt looked utterly confused, and it just hurt Percy even more. “But it was a good opportunity. I didn’t think it would be so offensive to want to do something to offset the ecological consequences of this trip. I thought you’d be happy to know that—”

“That my boyfriend preferred dicking around with seals to spending time with me? No, sorry, can’t say I was that thrilled.”

“To know that I was out there doing some good, something that would make this trip worthwhile.”

And really, that was the crux of it. It wasn’t that Newt was leaving Percy on his own to help the seals (though that in itself was in fact offensive enough, thank you very much). It was that Newt didn’t think making Percy happy, even just this once, was worthwhile enough.

“That,” Percy told him quietly, “is exactly what I mean when I say you don’t care. You don’t care a thing about me, or what I want. You  _ hate _ everything I like, God, I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.” He forced himself to stop playing with the Icee straw and meet Newt’s eyes. “Tell me, would you have come after me if you hadn’t already booked a flight to come back to Oahu?”

Newt, to his credit, didn’t hesitate. “Of course not. I would have waited until you came home. You’re not going to be here more than a few days, no point in creating that much pollution if you aren’t—”

“Yeah. Okay. I get it.” Percy took a deep breath. “Listen. I—I would have given you another chance, because, God, I actually  _ loved _ you, and it is—” To his utter despair, his voice broke. “It is killing me, really killing me, that you didn’t love me back. God, Newt, why the hell did you stay with me for five years? You think I’m a goddamn monster for eating meat. You literally said _ you wanted to have me arrested _ for taking a carriage ride in Central Park. For God’s sake, our first time was a hate fuck after I crushed your team in court and stopped you from protesting at SeaWorld!” He let out a bitter laugh. “You know, I really hated arguing that case? I think I was in love with you the minute you took the stand.”

Newt’s confusion softened back into something gentle, something that only a few days ago would have made Percy kneel at his feet. “It’s not too late,” he told Percy tenderly. “I’ll take the good with the bad. I know who you are. I think with a few discussions you could be taught—”

“But that’s the thing. I don’t want to be ‘taught.’ I accepted who you were, flaws and all. Why can’t you do the same for me?” There was a brief silence, and Percy let out another bitter laugh. “Oh God. That’s why. Because you don’t think you  _ have _ flaws.”

“As a privileged white male, I would certainly say—”

“Please don’t finish that sentence.” Percy stood up. He was done. “I don’t hate you, okay? I want you to know…I loved you. But God, I wish I hadn’t. Because then I would’ve seen a lot sooner that…that this was never going to work.”

Newt got to his feet too. He looked…disappointed, maybe, but not crushed. “I guess there’s no changing your mind.”

“Not really.” 

“Please tell me it’s not because of that… _ child _ back at the hotel.”

“His name is Credence,” Percy said, a little too defensively.

Of course Newt noticed. “Ah. So you’re attached to him. You do know a rebound fling is hardly a healthy foundation for a relationship—”

“So is fucking your opponent’s client in the conference room of a courthouse, but we managed to make it work for a while, didn’t we?” He offered Newt a weak smile. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

Newt indicated his travel case. “A tent. I’ll camp out somewhere. Don’t look at me like that…there’s nothing wrong with sleeping outside.”

It took an act of God for Percy to not roll his eyes. “Just make sure it’s not on someone’s private property. You’ll get arrested.”

Newt just shrugged it off. “It won’t be the first time.”

A sad laugh escaped. “I’ll miss you, you know.” It was the first time he’d admitted it out loud. Angry and heartbroken as he had been, and as much as he now had to admit they were a terrible match, he  _ would _ miss Newt. But he also knew that wasn’t enough to put himself through the pain of staying with him.

Especially not now that he knew what was out there waiting for him if he had the strength to reach out and take it.

~

When Credence opened the door to his room, he looked surprised to see Percy. “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” he said, and then, as if he were afraid of the answer, “Did you two talk? Did you…?”

He hesitated, and Percy knew what he wanted to ask:  _ Is this goodbye? Did he win you back? _

Percy leaned against the doorframe. “Yeah. He said you were just a rebound and we’d never last,” he said nonchalantly.

Credence laughed a little nervously. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. So you know what I told him?” Percy moved forward so that Credence had to step back and let him in.

“What?”

“I told him good-bye.”

The door closed behind him with a beautiful, final  _ click _ as the younger man’s eyes lit up, and the next moment Percy found himself with an armful of very happy Credence, being kissed within an inch of his life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand we're done! ^_^ Sorry this took so long to finish. I had a few other prompts I needed to do first ;)
> 
> For reference: [this](https://www.aransweatermarket.com/donegal-fleck-raglan-crew) is the sweater Percy gives Credence for his birthday, and [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KdBCFclSC0) is what I was listening to as I wrote their picnic scene. Not that either one is super relevant but. Just in case anyone wants visual/auditory aids for that part. ;)

_16 months later_

“Wake up, sweetheart. We’re here.”

Credence dragged himself back to the surface slowly, his head raising off Percy’s shoulder as he blinked sleep from his eyes. “It’s not morning already,” he protested. His head ached from lack of sleep, his neck hurting a little from sleeping with his head on Percy’s shoulder. First class seats were great, but they couldn’t change the fact that five hours of sleep was not enough for any normal human.

“It is, but don’t worry, we can nap this afternoon,” Percy promised. “Now get ready. When we get through the gate, my parents are going to _tackle_ you.”

“I don’t know if I can handle being tackled,” Credence admitted with a wince. 

Percy helped him sit up properly, sympathetically rubbing his back. “There we are…it’ll be all right, love. I’ll run interference. Here, we’ve got breakfast coming now, so we’ll be landing pretty quick…”

Credence wasn’t quite awake, so it took him a few minutes to remember the basic mechanics of eating and drinking, and even longer to gather himself enough to figure out how to get out of his seat and off the plane. But by the time they got to the terminal where Percy’s family was waiting, he felt a little more human.

And good thing, too, because he immediately found himself engulfed by one of the biggest hugs he’d ever had. “Every bit as lovely as Percival said you were,” a man’s voice grunted approvingly as a pair of arms crushed him to a broad chest.

“Don’t squish him, Uncle Ray,” Percy said with a laugh, and Credence breathed again as Percy gently tugged him out of the assailant’s arms…only to be squished again, this time by a dual attack. “Mum, Dad, that goes for you too!”

“Hush now. We’ll hug you and your fella as much as we like,” a female voice insisted, and moments later Credence was released only to be held at arm’s length. Percy’s mother looked him over and must’ve liked what she saw, because she immediately flashed him a warm smile that looked so very much like her son’s that Credence almost couldn’t help but feel at ease.

“Don’t mind us so,” Percy’s dad cut in. “We’re just that happy to meet the lad who’s stolen our Percy’s heart. Look at him, Kate. Could put that face on the cover of a magazine and the whole world’d fall in love.”

“Dad, don’t embarrass him,” Percy protested, gently tugging Credence safely out of his parents’ grasp. “Cree, this is my mom Kate, my dad Ben, and my Uncle Ray. And you’ll meet my granddad and my cousins when we get back to the house.” To the rest of them he added sternly, “And yes, this is my boyfriend Credence, which, y’know, you might’ve checked before you started squashing him; he might’ve been a coworker for all you knew.”

“Not likely,” Kate chuckled. “As if you’d come home and bring just a coworker! For a while we had a devil of a time getting this one to come back at all,” she told Credence in a conspiratorial tone as her husband took their luggage hostage and started to walk away, leaving them all no choice but to follow. “That fancy law office of his kept him on his toes…but you must be a good influence since he’s started coming back again.”

Credence knew the truth. It wasn’t work that had kept Percy at arm’s length. It was the person he’d been seeing before he met Credence. Percy _loved_ to travel, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than using the considerable resources at his disposal from work and other connections to spoil those he loved. Credence had seen that firsthand.

Their relationship had been long distance for the first few months, until Percy couldn’t stand it and all but begged Credence to move in with him. When Credence had to travel for work, as he often did, Percy came with him whenever he could. It was mostly U.S. travel—Hawaii, Florida, and California—but Percy didn’t mind. California was a big state, after all, and there was plenty to see in Florida besides Disney World. As for Hawaii, well. That was _their place._

Three months into their time together, Credence had the opportunity to plan a wedding in Paris, and he’d eagerly brought Percy along. It was their first international trip together and Percy had damn near cried when he set foot on European soil for the first time in well over a year. He’d made the quick trip over to Ireland to see his family while Credence was busy with work, and came back glowing with the kind of joy Credence wished he could bottle up and pour over him on sad days.

Their lovemaking that night had been almost transcendental, as if their very hearts and souls entwined when their bodies came together. Percy was always gentle, always ready to give Credence whatever he wanted or let Credence have his way with him…but that night he was exceptionally tender, as if Credence were the most precious thing on earth and it would kill Percy to see him get so much as a scratch. Percy had told him _I love you_ for the first time that night, whispered tenderly against the curve of Credence’s neck just before they began to undress each other, and Credence had nearly exploded with joy as he realized, with sudden and aching clarity, why Percy had waited so long to say what he clearly felt. He’d never felt more valued, more wanted, as they lay together that night. And that was when he knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that they were in this for the long haul. That Percy would not pull away from him. Not ever.

“Thank you,” Percy whispered as he held Credence close when they were done. “Thank you, love. You don’t know what kind of gift you gave me this week. You really don’t.” Percy had gone quiet for a moment before he went on to explain, “It’s the fact that you included me. That you wanted me here even if you couldn’t keep me with you the whole time. That you…you chose me.”

Credence knew what he meant, heard every word he wasn’t saying. He curled up close around Percy, tucking his head into his neck and wrapping a protective arm around his waist. _I’m here,_ his body language said. _Hold on to me. I’m here. I’ll always be here. I’ll always choose you._

They went to Canada together, to a little town called Goderich where they stayed in a bed-and-breakfast and went to a giant salt mine just because it was there and they _could._ They went camping at a nature park in Ontario, road-tripped to Niagara Falls. That winter, they went to Minnesota to a place where they could see the Northern Lights, and spent a magical night there, quiet and still, soaking in the natural beauty as if it were their last night on earth…and then drove to the Mall of America the very next day and played blacklight minigolf and went on roller coasters and did the mirror maze.

Their first Halloween together had been an absolute riot. Since Credence had season tickets at Universal Orlando it was no trouble at all to get them VIP passes at Halloween Horror Nights, and watching Percy scream his way through the _Stranger Things_ maze had to be one of the top ten moments of his entire life so far. Percy, Credence learned very quickly, was one of those people who seemed sharp and cool and eternally professional, until you put him in just the right place at the right moment and then he cut loose like a teenager at their first house party. 

At work, or so Percy’s best friend Seraphina informed Credence, he was fearless, smart as all get-out, exactly the kind of “shark” that a lawyer ought to be…and Credence supposed that was true if someone who knew Percy that well said so, but after watching Percy curl up in his arms during a movie night and sob inconsolably through the entire second half of _Titanic,_ Credence couldn’t really picture it. Just as well, perhaps, that he never went to see Percy at work, because he’d probably think his sweet, sensitive boyfriend had been possessed by a demon if he saw him “take apart an opponent” in court.

Credence had to work over Christmas and Percy had badly wanted to go home, so they’d been apart that week and it had just about killed both of them. It was like no matter how many adventures they had together, how much time they spent curled up contentedly in each other’s arms whether in a hotel room or Percy’s beautiful apartment in New York, it wasn’t enough. They’d been warned, _it won’t always be like this._ They’d heard, _rebound relationships never last._ They had been told, _the first time you have a fight you’ll be done._

Well. Nearly a year and a half later, a dozen arguments and one real fight under their belt, along with the odd trip to the hospital and one memorable night spent sleeping in a bus stop, here they were as in love as ever.

Percy had never pressured Credence to meet his family and Credence had never asked. But a few months before his twenty-eighth birthday he’d hesitantly asked Percy to take him to Ireland “someday,” which Percy immediately translated to _let’s do it this fall,_ and well. Here they were.

(Birthdays were a “thing” for both of them, as it turned out. The first birthday Credence spent with Percy, he woke up to breakfast in bed and tickets to his favorite musical sitting prominently in his lap, with Percy kneeling on the edge of the bed looking extremely pleased with himself.)

So now here they were in Ireland, in Percy’s childhood home with his parents fussing over both of them and his uncle teasing them and his cousins fairly swarming them. At some point Percy took him upstairs to his bedridden grandfather’s room and introduced Credence as if presenting him for inspection.

The old man took his time looking him over, then after an eternity he reached out to Credence and cupped both of his gnarled hands around one of Credence’s, crooked fingers closing over his in an unmistakable gesture of acceptance. “Do you love my grandson?” he asked, his voice low and hoarse but as clear as a summer day.

Credence nodded and, inexplicably, tears came to his eyes. “More than anything,” he assured the old man. “More than I can even say.”

“Then keep him,” ordered Grandpa Graves. “Keep him close and don’t ever let him go.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Credence said, brushing away tears with his free hand even as he looked over his shoulder and gave the blushing Percy a knowing smile. “I plan to do just that.”

~

“Okay but this is really not fair,” Credence protested hours later over a noisy dinner table. “How have we been dating since _May of last year_ and I didn’t know that your favorite food is chicken shawarma?”

Percy laughed and slid a reassuring arm around his waist, even as he continued to eat one-handed. On Credence’s other side, Ray let out a booming laugh. “Oh, I’ll bet there’s plenty you don’t know about our Percival yet, young man. Takes a while to get the full story out of him. I remember when he was a wee one in primary school, we had to take him to his GP because—”

“I don’t know where you’re going with this, Uncle Ray,” Percy cut him off, “but I’m a hundred percent sure Credence doesn’t need to hear it.”

“Oh, and I suppose he also doesn’t need to know about the time you got us lost in Bruges and almost wound up getting arrested for punching out a Canadian? After, of course, we ended up spending a far-too-long evening holed up in a B&B with a couple of manky hookers and a racist dwarf?”

Credence choked on his shawarma. Eyes streaming, he gulped down half a glass of water before he was able to clear his throat and ask, “You _what?”_

“College graduation trip,” Percy said with a grimace. 

“First of all, how do you get _lost_ in _Bruges?”_ Credence demanded. “It’s the size of a postage stamp! I’ve seen you navigate _Targets_ bigger than that town!”

Percy winced and shook his head. “You really don’t want to know the details.”

“Oh, I think he does,” Ray smirked. “What was her name, Percival? Chloe?”

“I will _shoot you_ if you don’t shut up,” Percy muttered into his water glass.

“He nearly got himself mugged trying to get a shag,” Ray informed Credence cheerfully. “I’m assuming he’s never told you this story, it doesn’t make him look too smooth, does it? But he got lured into a trap by a pretty girl who had some sort of tourist-robbing scheme set up with her ex, the guy had a gun full of blanks and—”

“Oh my God, will you please stop,” Percy begged. “I want him to still like me at the end of this trip, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Just trying to make sure young Credence here knows what he’s getting into,” Ray laughed shamelessly. He reached over and gave Credence a manly whack on the arm. “But I’m sure you’ve got the measure of him well enough…I heard the story of how you two met. Thank you,” he added in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, “for caring for him so when you found him in that state.”

“I wouldn’t have done anything else,” Credence assured him.

After dinner there was a movie night, all of them piled in the Graves family living room around the TV watching some ancient romantic comedy about Tom Hanks falling in love with a mermaid, and Percy snuggled up under Credence’s arm like he belonged there, his head tucked neatly into the crook of Credence’s neck. Credence had never seen the movie before and watched with interest, but Percy drifted off well before the end.

Kate stood up when it was over and turned off the TV, then turned to see Percy nestled cozily in Credence’s arms. “Oh, isn’t that sweet,” she cooed. “Ben, look at our boy, sleeping through the end just like when he was tiny…”

“He’s probably worn out from the trip,” Credence offered with an apologetic smile. “I know I am…c’mon you,” he added, gently nudging Percy with his shoulder until he finally opened his eyes. “Let’s get you up to bed.”

“I wish I had the camera,” Ben chuckled as Percy slowly dragged himself upright and stretched like a kitten. “This is almost as good as when we flew to his school to pick him up for a holiday only to find him slumped at his desk, dead to the world.”

“Yeah, Percy can sleep anywhere,” Credence agreed with a giggle. “Just goes until he drops and then you have to practically get a court order to wake him up.”

“You know I can hear all of you, right?” Percy grumbled sleepily, and pouted when the whole room laughed.

But later on when they were curled up in bed together Percy wrapped himself around Credence like a security blanket, his chest pressed warmly over Credence’s scarred back, one arm secured firmly around Credence’s waist. “I can’t wait to show you your present tomorrow,” he whispered, and Credence hummed contentedly as Percy’s warm breath on his skin and the rise and fall of Percy’s chest against his back lulled him to sleep.

~

Percy woke Credence at eight the next morning and took him on a lazy five-hour road trip across the entire country. He wouldn’t tell Credence where they were going; “you’ll know when we get there,” he insisted. Part of the reason it took so long was because Percy occasionally insisted on stopping at little roadside stands and cheesy tourist attractions. But most of the drive was beautiful and scenic, and Credence didn’t mind having Percy all to himself after a long travel-and-family day yesterday.

When they finally got to their destination, Credence gasped a little when he realized where they were. “The Cliffs of Moher?” he asked, eyes wide. “I didn’t know we were going to come here on this trip!”

“Well, it was one of the first places you talked about when I told you I was from Ireland, so…” Percy grinned and stole a quick kiss before he hopped out of the car. “C’mon, love. I’ve got something wonderful here for you.”

Credence followed as Percy went to the trunk of the car and extracted a picnic basket, blanket, a camera bag, and another bag that he slung over his shoulder before striding off to the visitor’s center, with Credence tagging close behind. “Are you up for a bit of a hike?” Percy asked him once they reached the visitor’s center. “Once we start it’ll be about six kilometers, or a little under four miles, from start to end.”

Credence stared at their surroundings in awe. It was so much prettier here than he ever could have imagined. “I don’t mind.”

They started at the visitor’s center and walked a short portion of the southern trail, heading towards Hags Head (and didn’t it make Credence giggle to say that name!) and walked until they came to the ruins of a castle. “Moher Tower,” Percy explained as they found a fairly empty spot away from the other tourists. “If you want to go inside later, we can, but…” He spread out the blanket. “I thought we’d have our picnic here.”

“Are we allowed?” Credence asked as he settled carefully at the edge of the blanket. “Or will they get mad?”

Percy shrugged and started pulling things out of the picnic blanket. “No one’s ever stopped me from eating here before. We’d play tag here a lot when I was a kid, me and the cousins. I’ve seen people make out here, do all that…no one cares unless you do something like smoking or setting of fireworks, something that’ll actually hurt the wildlife. As long as we clean up after ourselves it shouldn’t be a problem.”

They settled down a bit away from the tower, away from the tourists, near a nice patch of wildflowers. Percy couldn’t seem to stop himself from pulling out the camera and taking picture after picture, until Credence took over the photos with a giggle while Percy got back to setting up their picnic.

Credence couldn’t help but stare at the feast Percy withdrew from the picnic basket. Devilled eggs, fresh carrots and cucumbers, mini quiches, cold cuts, fresh-baked rolls, chilled pasta with flaky bits of salmon, sugared raspberries and blackberries, lemon scones, fat juicy chocolate-covered strawberries, tiny cupcakes… “Who’s going to eat all this food?” he asked with an amazed laugh. “And when the hell did you have time to do all this, anyway?”

“My mother may have helped a tiny bit,” Percy admitted shamelessly. “Anyway, I wasn’t sure what all you’d want to eat so I tried to bring a bit of everything.” He shot Credence a significant look. “I haven’t forgotten how well you spoiled me when we met. I’m not about to stop trying to return the favor anytime soon.”

Credence couldn’t help but blush at the memory. He could never forget that precious first week together, when Percy had so willingly made himself so vulnerable and let Credence ease his pain. He’d been hurt badly but was still so, _so_ open to the idea of love. _I never stood a chance,_ Credence thought dreamily as Percy opened up the shoulder bag and presented Credence with two gift-wrapped boxes, one big and one very tiny.

“Presents first or food first?” Percy asked, nudging Credence’s knee with one of the boxes.

“Um. Food first,” Credence decided as his stomach rumbled.

Percy laughed and put the presents aside. “Here, baby. Let me…” He withdrew a little plastic plate and fixed it up with corned beef on a roll, a devilled egg, plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, and a pile of the salmon pasta. “For you, lovely.” He handed over the plate and absently nibbled at a piece of lunchmeat while he watched Credence eat. Normally, being watched would make Credence feel awkward. But he didn’t mind now, not when Percy was watching him with such obvious adoration.

Credence remembered when his mother used to stare him down as he ate the tiny bowls of soup and stale hunks of bread she left him. She wanted to make sure he didn’t get any more than she thought he should be allowed. Percy, on the other hand, Credence realized with a rush of affection, wanted to make sure Credence was enjoying what he’d been given, and offer more if necessary. “It’s so good,” he told Percy enthusiastically. “Really, really good. I can’t believe you just _made_ all this, even with help it must’ve taken forever.”

“It’s worth every second it took, if you like it that much,” Percy told him with a smile, and pushed him a bowl of potato salad and a tray with a selection of sliced cheeses. “Want anything else? Chips? More veggies?”

“I’m going to want a wheelchair if you keep feeding me,” Credence teased him, and Percy rolled his eyes and playfully tossed a carrot at him in reply.

The view was so pretty. The spot in which they sat was like a meadow, with soft grass and little bunches of wildflowers around them, and before them the sea stretched out deep and blue and sparkly with the sun reflecting off the top. Soon, when the sun would set, it was going to be spectacularly pretty. The walk back would be beautiful. The only sound was the sea below and the wind in their hair and people talking around them. No traffic, no blaring music, no sirens. It was perfect.

“It’s so pretty,” Credence murmured in awe as he looked around at the beautiful scenery. “It’s so much more pretty than I even thought it would be.”

“Are you happy here?” Percy asked him, his voice suddenly very serious. “Do you like it out here? Are you cold?”

“Very happy,” Credence assured him, reaching over to squeeze Percy’s hand. “I love it out here, and no, I’m not cold or tired, it’s so nice out here I could stay forever.”

Percy looked somehow both satisfied and relieved. “Good. Then we’ll stay.”

 _I really could stay forever,_ Credence thought, looking out to the horizon and thinking that he would come back here as often as Percy wanted. In fact, if Percy ever wanted to move back to Ireland, Credence knew he would absolutely come along willingly.

When they couldn’t eat another bite, Percy packed up the remains of their picnic and passed him the bigger of the two presents. “This one first.”

The box was fairly big and flat, and Credence quickly guessed that it contained clothing…but he was no less in awe when he pulled the lid off the white gift box and found inside a soft ombre black-to-white sweater, the exact same shape and texture as a green one he’d seen Percy wear at home. He loved to snuggle when Percy wore that sweater, it was so comfortable and made Percy look so soft. To have one of his own felt somehow even more intimate, like Percy was giving Credence a piece of himself. “Oh, Percy. I love it.”

“It’s an Aran sweater. The one I’ve got was a present from my parents years ago. I guess you could say…” Credence looked up just in time to saw him blushing. “It’s sort of a welcome-to-the-family gift, you could call it, I suppose.”

Credence quickly understood the implications. “Oh…I see,” was all he said, though he now felt himself blushing as well.

“It’s kind of a practical gift too,” Percy added. “If we come back for Christmas, well, you’ll be wanting that, trust me. Winters here can be very cold.”

“I’ll come back anytime you want,” Credence said without thinking, and felt a hot flash of pleasure sweep through him when Percy replied with a good minute’s worth of schoolboyish blushing and stammering.

“Now that you’ve thoroughly ruined my poker face,” Percy told him when he’d recovered, and nudged the smaller present towards him, “open this one.”

Credence did, and promptly let out a tiny gasp. It was a jewelry box, and it didn’t take a psychic to know what would be inside. Credence opened it slowly, his heart hammering against his ribs, to see a pretty silver ring decorated with tiny diamond chips. “Oh… _Percy,”_ he breathed, his stomach flipping like an olympic gymnast. 

He looked up to see tears in Percy’s eyes. The chatter of the other tourists suddenly seemed even further away. The sun was low in the sky and they were encased in soft, warm golden light. It felt like a moment from a movie, and it seemed to call for some sort of dramatic speech, some exchange of words between the two of them that could make time itself stop, something that forever changed the definition of _love._

But Percy just reached out, caught Credence’s free hand in both of his, and whispered in the softest, most plaintive voice Credence had ever heard, “Will you, sweetheart?”

“God, _yes,”_ Credence fervently replied, and all but hurled himself into Percy’s lap, his arms tight around his lover’s—now _fiance’s_ —neck as if he’d never let go.

~

Hours later they lay curled around each other like kittens once more, this time tucked away in a fireplace-warmed room in a bed and breakfast near the cliffs. Credence lay on his back with Percy comfortably tucked against his chest, his arm around Percy in just such a position that he could see his engagement ring. It was the most perfect day of his life, he thought dreamily as he stroked his fiance’s hair. “I love you so much,” he told Percy softly. He’d said it perhaps a hundred times in the last few hours, but it didn’t matter. Percy would never mind hearing it again.

“I love you too. God, I can’t believe this is real.” Percy nestled himself a little closer and Credence obligingly held him tighter, knowing Percy probably felt a little vulnerable right now. “You didn’t have to say yes.”

“You didn’t have to ask. But I’m glad you did.”

“You know…the day Newt broke up with me,” Percy laughed a little self-consciously, “I thought he was going to propose. I could see the box in his pocket, it had my house key but I didn’t know that.”

Credence obligingly stayed quiet, knowing Percy needed to say whatever was coming. He knew Percy sometimes worried that he’d somehow tainted their relationship by beginning it in the ashes of his old one; he’d even spoken to a therapist about it a few times, sessions of which he had kept Credence fully informed (even though Credence never would have dreamed of asking). When Newt eventually began seeing the friend he’d moved in with when he left Percy, Credence heard about it; when he turned up as a witness for a court case that Percy had to argue, Credence was alerted immediately.

But he never felt slighted or jealous. There was never any doubt in his mind at all that he had “won,” as childish a way of putting it as that may be. In his mind, honestly, it was simple: Newt had broken Percy’s heart and Credence had fixed it. That was all there was to it. Percy worried about making Credence feel insecure and only ever talked about Newt when strictly necessary. But Credence had never felt any real anxiety over it. Percy had chosen him, free and clear. That was all he cared about.

“I was almost disappointed, even before he broke up with me,” Percy went on, his voice a little tight. “Not…not jealous, really, but almost like…I don’t know. Felt like my thunder had been stolen. I wanted to be the one to propose,” he finally got out, and oh, then Credence understood.

“You wanted to be the man?” he teased Percy, and relished the quiet, relieved laugh he got in reply.

“Not exactly. But I wanted to be the one who created that moment, instead of the one on the receiving end of it, if that makes sense.” He paused and then added, “And I know you plan things like this for a living, so. Thank you for…for letting me have that moment, I guess.”

Credence had to smile. Percy was always doing this, thanking him for things for which Credence never thought he was owed any gratitude. “Thank _you_ for being so good to me,” he replied, giving Percy another gentle, reassuring squeeze. “You gave me the most perfect day today, you know…seriously, ten out of ten, best birthday ever.”

Percy laughed softly into his skin again. “Oh, love…it’s so easy to be good to you. You deserve it, every bit of it…” He went quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was more serious. “It won’t be long now before I’ll be able to step back from work a bit. Not _immediately,_ of course, we’re talking five or ten years here, not next month or anything. But…I’d like to come back. Maybe spend the summers here, or something like that. Just. If you’re all right with it. And maybe…”

He trailed off, but Credence knew where this was going. “Percy? If you’re asking me if I’ll move here with you when you retire, the answer is yes,” he said gently.

Percy sighed in palpable relief. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he murmured, face still pressed tightly into Credence’s neck. “God, you give me everything.”

“You deserve everything. After all the shit we’ve been though, we _both_ do,” Credence said firmly. “No one can tell us we can’t have what we want, after working so hard to get here.”

Percy melted again, going soft and pliant in Credence’s arms. “You make me happy,” he told Credence, and it made his heart sing because really, that was all he’d ever wanted. To make someone this happy.

To love and be loved, the way he was now.

“Forever,” he promised, and Percy’s arm tightened around his waist, and they lay there together in the warmth and cozy darkness of their room, the embers of the fire burning low, the wind whistling outside, the promise of the rest of their lives together hanging in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't want to spoil this in the beginning notes, but yes, that ring from the moodboard is the one Percy uses to propose to Cree ^_^
> 
> Why do I have so many proposals/wedding scenes in my fics? because I'm a fluffy sappy romantic mushbucket that is why, let me be soft with these boys dammit we all know JKR ain't gonna do it ;P


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